Pelosi trip stirs strong opposition in Russia

The visit by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi to China's Taiwan region on Aug 2 was broadly condemned by the international community, and was criticized as being "harmful" to both China-US relations and regional stability, Russian media and experts said.

In a recent commentary article by Kommersant, the Russian newspaper said the visit was criticized in Russia, where presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it "the purest provocation".

Even in some US media, including those loyal to the Democratic Party, Pelosi's action was considered unreasonable, Kommersant reported, adding that "now the administration of President Joe Biden will have to make a lot of effort to minimize the damage from the trip of a politician who will probably soon leave her seat in Congress".

The attitude by the Russian government is clear. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his speech on Tuesday at the Moscow Conference on International Security that the trip carried out by an "irresponsible politician" was "another deliberate attempt to fuel the flames and stir up trouble in the Asia-Pacific".

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the conference, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu similarly noted that Pelosi's provocative Taiwan visit was a step to destabilize the region.

In an interview with China Daily, Andrey Denisov, Russian ambassador to China, said the trip is a serious violation of the one-China principle.

Domestic affairs

"We believe relations between both sides of the Taiwan Straits are exclusively China's domestic affairs. The Chinese side is entitled to take any measures necessary to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity in terms of the Taiwan question," the ambassador said.

Igor Denisov, senior research fellow in the Institute for International Studies at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, said tensions over the visit to the island are another proof that the Taiwan question has always been a sensitive matter at the center of relations between the United States and China.

Glenn Diesen, an expert at Russian think tank Valdai Discussion Club, said China's economic and military strength is growing, while it seeks "peaceful reunification" by political and economic means, it reserves the right to take Taiwan back by force if its red lines are crossed.

Despite the raising of tensions in the Taiwan Straits to the highest level, the Chinese leadership showed wisdom in reacting to the provocation, said Vladimir Vinokurov, professor of the Diplomatic Academy at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

China will continue to take decisive measures to protect state sovereignty and territorial integrity, and US politicians should remember that Taiwan is an integral part of China's territory and the issue of territorial integrity is a red line, Vinokurov said.